A local nonprofit organization trains low-income women to work with bees.

July 24, 2015

[7/24/2015] Under a partnership with the UMN Bee Squad, Urban Ventures has hired women to supervise its bees and learn the craft of making honey. Reinas de Miel, or Honey Queens, look after hives on a farm in Lakeville as part of a program aimed at getting low-income women involved in beekeeping. Under the tutelage of Bridget Mendel, a U Bee Squad mentor and teacher, the Reinas del Miel tend to their hives by searching the boxes for honey and checking to see if the queen bees were producing eggs. The six women use the money they earn from beekeeping to support their families, and the comraderie of the group of beekeeping women has been transformational. Read the full article.